I often thought that the rich have no problems, none whatsoever, up until I stumbled upon a gentleman on the bus.
I was in a hurry to reach home. It was pouring heavily, I rushed into the bus, to find one empty seat at the back. Oh, God! How I hate sitting at the back.
I took a seat next to an old man who must have probably been in his sixties. He was well dressed and seemed to be a highly educated person, but his face radiated tense and gloominess. As usual, I made myself comfortable and began to read a book.
Suddenly, he glanced at the book ‘A tale of two cities’ and gave a sigh of relief. In no time we found ourselves discussing the greatness of the book, for he had read it thrice. It was one of my favourite and a true masterpiece by Charles Dickens.
Gradually, he began drawing anecdotes of his life. I made no attempt to get back to the book, as his story was equally interesting. His life story was a typical rag to riches one. He earned sufficient enough to fill his life with luxuries and comforts. At this point, I thought to myself,
Why this tense and melancholic expression in his face?
I wish I could ask him, but I dared not.
Halfway through the journey, he himself revealed what I wanted from him, as is he had heard my inner voice.
“My wife died recently,” he muttered, “Now that I am old, I retired from my business. I bequeathed all assets to my children. Though I’m relieved from my work, I feel distressed and gloomy for no reason. I tried to figure out what went wrong”.
He took a sip of water and continued, “In the process of making money I’ve forgotten the core principles, ideas, and hobbies that made me. I kind of knew I was wrong, but I can’t help myself. Now that I’m free from all the obstacles, I want live by reviving good old memories. I embark on this bus journey to begin my new phase of life.”
My stop had come, and I bade adieu.
I need not say that I was amazed, but I did learn a few lessons during the journey. Don’t you think our life would be pleasant if we carry our core values, ethics, hobbies, and memories throughout our life?